Touring America 2023

Yesterday was a beautiful day with the sun shining most of the day. I sat out in my easy chair most of the day and enjoyed the warmth and serenity of Tillamook Bay. We did a hike around Garibaldi to see what the town has to offer. We found the post office, a small museum and loads of little stores offering everything from beads to bread. Debi found a pair of toaster tongs, so I can no longer give her grief for using a knife to get stuck toast out of the toaster. Interesting store called Myrtlewood.

As nice as yesterday was, today it's back to same old, same old. I really don't know how the locals cope with no sun. It's not cold, but it is damp and overcast. I took Jasmine on her morning walk today, 1.2 miles! Saw some interesting sites as the "city" awakens and begins it's day. The fishermen were out and about and the lumber mill was in full swing. Even the steam engine chugged by, with it's black smoke and shrill whistle that echoed through the canyons.

We tried out the Fishereman's Cafe yesterday for fish n chips. Not bad....better than those we had at the Bowpicker in Astoria, but not as good as the ones at Pelican's Roost in Auburn, Ca.

Tillamook Bay in the early morning. We experienced a very low tide this morning. As you can see in the picture, we could literally walk out to the pier in the distance. We will see an equally impressive high tide tonight. These huge swings are dramatic to watch. What's also interesting is how the birds react to the tidal swings.

The building in the middle is the Pier's End and the one on the left houses three 44' Coast Guard Rescue Boats.







We did get a little crabbing in. I put a small crab pot on the end of my Salt Water Rod and let Josh try his luck at catching the critters. After an hour or so, all we did was feed them. Maybe we will try again tomorrow with something more substantial than the small pieces of chicken. Locals recommend turkey drumsticks, so we will try that. If you use fish, the seals will steal it.






On our morning walk, we watched the local lumber mill at work. The load of timber this forklift/crab has in it's claw came off a lumber truck. They pull the truck up, take off the binders and this crab picks up the entire load in one swoop.

The local Steam Locomotive begins it's day with it's first run up the coast along the ocean.  It will return in a couple hours.











As I said, yesterday was a beautiful day ! As the sun began to set though, this was a prelude to what today was to be like. Notice the huge fog bank moving in towards the shore. Ugh!

The building pictured above was the original Coast Guard boathouse. It was built around 1935 and was used until the early 1960s when the new facility was built. It sat vacant for almost 10 years before being taken over by the Port of Garibaldi. It has served as a bait shop and most recently as a residence as there is a 1200 sq. ft. apt. featuring hardwood floors and two bathrooms. Interestingly enough, when boat pass close to the pier, it sways a little. I can only imagine what living there would be on a daily basis or during a large storm!

Here's Debi's soon to be famous toast tongs! They are made of Myrtlewood, which is a tree found on the Oregon coast. It grows in a symmetrical shape, with long flat leaves that can be used as seasoning. The Myrtle grows very slowly, has a base of about 6' and can be up to 80' tall. This slow growth produces a very close grained and fine textured wood. It's roots draw up iron, copper and other minerals causing the wood to take on colors and infinite patterns. It is extremely heavy and does not float.

The Myrtle also grows wild in Galilee, and is used both ornamentally and ritually as one of the four species of the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles.